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Friday, August 26, 2011

Math/Science Notebooking: Part 1

Due to the number of responses I received on my math notebook post I have decided to start a mathand science notebooking series. (By the way, I was NOT prepared to receive such an amazing response to my journal example, but very excited that so many of you are interested in them!!) So, without further ado, here is part 1:

When creating math and science notebooks with your students there are 5 things (among many) I think are necessary to consider from the get-go:

At my school 4th grade is departmentalized so I keep a notebook for each of my math classes (so I have a total of three). I fill in my notebook at the same time as my students, modeling how I want students to fill it in. It is also useful in case students are absent, though I normally have another student fill in an absent student's notebook. Just in case I forget...

Color--why not??! You want the students to take ownership of their notebooks so let them personalize it by using color! (And, yes, they have the potential to go a little crazy get carried away with color.) If you are able to, print charts, graphic organizers, notes pages, etc. on color. Color is a powerful stimulus for the brain!!!! It helps them learn!!

This WILL help. Students WILL appreciate it, YOU will appreciate it. The table of contents in my notebooks include the date, entry title and page number. Each actual entry is dated, the title is written at the top and the page number written at the bottom.

Foldables and minibooks are a super way to reinforce concepts. My students' faces always light up when they see that they get to make some sort of foldable or minibook. I try to be creative and use different kinds each time. Dinah Zike has a few excellent books on foldables.

It's great to have students take notes in your journal, but to step it even more and increase interest/learning, add interactive activities. It can even be as simple as a concentration game in a pocket. My students (in the past) enjoy taking the activities home and using them with parents or siblings.

I hope you enjoyed this post!! Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow, the Student Contract! (freebie included!) :D

After reading your original post, I started getting myself ready to do a math notebook this year with my third graders. I'm very excited about it, and I've started planning the first nine weeks out by making my own foldables and minibooks to go inside! I can't wait to see what else you post about your math notebooks. Thank you so much for taking the time to share such a wonderful idea!

Thanks for sharing! I have started a science notebook for my 4th grade students, and your tips are really helpful. One thing that still has me baffled is the table of contents. What do you do when you want to add an extra page in the notebook, but you've already created the table of contents?

I can't wait to read more about your math notebooks! I've been inspired to create better math notebooks with my students this year, and have spent some time researching foldables - even got one of Dinah Zike's foldables books.JenRunde's Room

This is awesome! I do have math journals, but they have never been this exciting. My goal this year has been to do them more consistently and this has definitely inspired me! Thank you for sharing. Looking forward to the rest of the your postings.

I am excited to begin math notebooks with my third graders. We are having to add a new teacher due to the large number of kiddos in third grade this year, so I can't get into notebooking full force until Wednesday. Looking forward to seeing more in your series. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful idea.

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